Ben Johnson, a two-year starter on the Northwestern men’s basketball team who decided to transfer after the conclusion of last season, is narrowing his list of choices for next year.
Johnson paid a visit to Minnesota and head coach Dan Monson on Friday, opening the possibility of returning to his hometown of Minneapolis for the rest of his college career.
Johnson told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that he is going to visit South Carolina and Missouri as well before making a final decision. Johnson’s father told The Daily on Monday that his son is not feeling any immediate pressure to make a decision, although he did enjoy his most recent visit.
“Really, there isn’t a timeline,” Hal Johnson said.”This is a young man who has 60 games of experience with a Big Ten program and started every single one of those 60 games. That in itself demonstrates that he is an individual who can be of value to a program.
“I think he certainly appeared to enjoy the contact (Friday) and is giving Minnesota very serious consideration.”
Johnson’s interest in Minnesota raises questions about eligibility, since the transfer would be from one Big Ten school to another. If he should go to Minnesota, he would be ineligible to receive financial aid in the form of a scholarship, according to Nancy Lyons, NU’s associate athletic director for intercollegiate services.
“If you sign a tender of athletic aid at any Big Ten institution, you can never receive athletic aid from another Big Ten institution,” Lyons said. “There have been a few exceptions, Luke Recker being the most obvious.”
Recker initially transferred from Indiana to Arizona, but relocated to Iowa – where he is on scholarship – after a traumatic car accident. Lyons said extenuating circumstances are necessary to get such an exception, and Johnson’s case does not seem to fit that mold.
Johnson’s family would therefore have to pay tuition if he decided to attend any Big Ten university. Since his family lives in-state, tuition, room, board and student services costs at Minnesota would total just under $10,000 a year.
Monson cannot comment on Johnson’s visit or the possibility that he will play at Minnesota unless he decides to attend, said Bill Crumley, the school’s director of media relations. The 6-foot-2 guard cited a contrast between his preferred style of up-tempo play and the NU’s in explaining his decision to transfer.
“Ben’s happiness is the most important piece wherever he would be going, if it were Missouri, South Carolina, anyplace else,” said Hal Johnson, indicating that money is an issue but not the deciding factor. “This time he has to make a decision that’s going to fit best. Because you don’t just do this every year. You don’t bounce around like a ping-pong ball.”
Ben Johnson could not be reached for comment on Monday.
No matter where he decides to go, Johnson will have to sit out a year before playing, according to Lyons. Since he did not redshirt a season at NU, he can play for two more years, the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons.
The Wildcats have not yet gotten any commitments from recruits in the late signing period, which began April 11 and goes until May 15. With Johnson’s early departure, the Cats currently have only 10 players returning for next season.
The three programs Johnson appears to be considering the most seriously all have bright futures. Minnesota went to the second round of the NIT last season after recovering from sanctions stemming from an academic scandal. Missouri lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament to Duke under young head coach Quin Snyder, and South Carolina recently signed former Wake Forest head coach Dave Odom to take over its program.
